Dell Inspiron 15R

Dell’s Inspiron laptops used to be fairly generic and underpowered, but this certainly isn’t true of the refreshed 2011 models. We’re no strangers to the range, having looked at various configurations in the past, but this latest 15R is one of the first we’ve seen to use dedicated Nvidia graphics.

The 1GB GeForce GT 525M might be one of the slower models in Nvidia’s current line-up, but t’s still more than capable of playing the latest games at 720p.

It stormed through our Dirt3 test at a very smooth 37.7fps, even with 4x anti-aliasing, so you shouldn't have trouble playing older games at even higher resolutions. Naturally, it can also handle high definition video, either in 720p on the laptop or 1080p on an external display using the HDMI output.

As well as graphics power, the 15R also holds its own in desktop tasks, thanks to an Intel Core i5 processor. The dual-core i5-2410m runs at 2.3GHz, jumping up to 2.9GHz using Intel’s Turbo Boost technology. With 4GB of system memory, it completed our multimedia benchmarks with an overall score of 53, slightly above average for a mid-range laptop.

All this performance would go to waste if the 15R wasn’t any good to use in everyday tasks, but thankfully it held up very well during testing thanks to the excellent 15.6in display. It has a relatively standard 1,366x768 resolution, but the clarity is very impressive thanks to the glossy screen finish and ultra-bright LED backlight, which help create incredibly vivid colours and pin-sharp images. With a pair of stereo speakers that sounded slightly better than we’ve come to expect from other laptops, you’ll have no reason to plug in a monitor and speakers when watching catch-up TV online.

Typing on the full-size keyboard was pleasant enough. Both the standard keys and the separate numerical keypad had plenty of spring in each key, providing enough tactile feedback that we were always sure when we’d pressed a key. Sadly, the overall experience was soured by the noticeable flex in the keyboard tray that would appear at the lightest of touches. The large touchpad was much better, thanks to a smooth finish that let our fingers glide across its surface unhindered. Multi-touch gestures are supported and work rather well, but the physical touchpad buttons were slightly disappointing. The long key travel and lack of tactile feedback meant we preferred to use a USB mouse when sat at a desk.